Pocono News Section

SPCA Shutdown Overwhelms Rescue Groups, Police

SPCA Shutdown Overwhelms Rescue Groups, Police - Tuesday, February 3, 2009 at 5:02PM EST

STROUDSBURG - Last week's Monroe County SPCA shut down took a bite out of animal rescue groups resources. They and the local police are overwhelmed with pets.
You won't hear any dogs or see any cats when you pull up to the Monroe County SPCA. You'll find the place locked up and a box filled with flyers. The flyers tell people to drop their pets off with rescue groups like Camp Papillon.

But the solution isn't so easy. The rescue groups aren't shelters. They are just networks of volunteers who call themselves foster families. They keep the animals until someone adopts them.

"We will try to do whatever we can to assist the community with taking in strays," said Heather Stephens of Camp Papillon. She has five foster dogs right now. Most of them from the SPCA shut down. She wondered, "Where do we go from here now? How can we make this happen that we can make all of these animals safe?"

Safety is also a concern for the local police. They have no where to take stray animals. "Right now we're not going to pick up any strays. That's a problem," said Lieutenant Brian Kimmins of the Stroud Area Regional Police.

He worries strays will roam the streets, get hit by cars, or bite people. He scheduled an emergency meeting with Camp Papillon for later this week. "I'm hoping it's going to provide some relief," he said.

The mission will be difficult. Foster families are already overwhelmed. But Camp Papillon believes there are more people willing to open their hearts and homes to animals.

Camp Papillon needs foster families as well as donations of food and pet supplies. For more information call 570-420-0450 or visit www. camppapillon. org.